It fulfils its role as an introduction to "French girl singers of the 1960s", and still has something to offer enthusiasts/trainspotters like me seeking new gems to sate their appetite.
Over the 24 songs, they've picked a few familiar tracks that have popped up in films and TV ads (B.B. as recently heard on a Stella beer ad; Françoise Hardy's Voila, which soundtracked a Horlicks ad, then was plundered by R*bbie W*ll*ams; Laisser Tomber Les Filles, which the whole world will no doubt recognise as April March's Chickhabit from that Tarrantino flick).
There's also a handful of yé-yé 'classics' like Roller Girl, C'est La Mode, and, possibly the most comped French pop track ever Les Filles C'est Fait Pour Faire L'amour by Charlotte Leslie (5 compilation inclusions and counting), and it does sometimes feel like these outshine the more obscure numbers.
A real bonus is the hefty booklet filled with record covers and photos of the featured girls, plus the extensive track-by-track commentaries penned by the people behind Ready Steady Girls.
For me, it was worth the entry fee alone for Louise Cordet's scratchy violin twister, Michèle Torr's Gainsbourg-penned canter-along, and especially the closing Liz Brady number: Il Suffit D'un Jour sounds like a long-lost Bond-theme (in French of course). A heady 2 minutes 48 of John Barry-esque strings, brass, harpsichord and timpani-laden drama directed by Jacques Denjean.
[buy C'est Chic! from Amazon.uk]
2 comments:
fabulous tune. Looks like a great record. Thanks.
Hi L, yes it's a pretty good comp, an ideal intro to the world of French femme-pop and ye-ye, and the Liz Brady track brings it all to a fittingly dramatic and cinematic end.
thanks for the comment
Dom
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